Cats and Whistles

LittleMy · Post by **LittleMy** » Sat Oct 20, 2001 8:46 pm

I just had an addition to my household- and this 5 month old cat flees whenever I play my low D. (It doesn't seem to have a problem with my Generation high Eb).

Has anyone ever had problems mixing whistles and cats? Am I traumatizing mine? Why the low D and not the high? And finally, what should I name this cat?

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Sat Oct 20, 2001 9:38 pm

How about Lowdie?

ChrisLaughlin · Post by **ChrisLaughlin** » Sat Oct 20, 2001 10:14 pm

Mmmm.... I like cats! They taste like chicken

LittleMy · Post by **LittleMy** » Sat Oct 20, 2001 10:41 pm

rebl_rn · Post by **rebl_rn** » Sun Oct 21, 2001 6:42 am

I've got the opposite problem - my cat doesn't mind the low whistle but flees when I play a higher one. I wouldn't worry about traumatizing it - the cat will probably traumatize you once or twice too! The cat will find a safe hiding place away from what bothers it.

Just keep it away from Walton's Little Blacks - mine still bears the scars (the whistle, not the cat).

As far as a name, I wanted something Irish for mine so I named her Ceili - it's a two syllable name with a hard consonant at the beginning that pet experts say are best, and you have great fun at the vets' office trying to get them to pronounce it right!

Enjoy your pet!
Beth

MarkB · Post by **MarkB** » Sun Oct 21, 2001 7:35 am

Like Beth, my D whistles have scars on them and if I wasn't wearing jeans once my leg would have been shredded.

Cats don't like high pitch noises, and my cat "Clancy" has the weight to make you pay attention. Clancy weighs roughly 25 pounds. And he isn't really fat. JUST BIG!!!!

He is my constant companion when I am on this board, he lays right beside me on the ottoman within a short arms reach, as he is now.

Clancy doesn't leave the room when I practice the flute, the low whistles, or the bodhran. But if I pick up a high D whistle, within three notes at the low end, forget about the high notes; I get serious running body charges right into the leg.

He then backs off and howls, screams to drown me out, next is the attack. And it is a full body frontal attack right over the coffee table launching himself like a missle.

I really have to persist if I want to practice, driving him into the bedroom with a look of absolute discuss on his face.

I have tried going into the bedroom and shutting the door. That doesn't work, cats have the ultimate right of freedom of movement and expression, that no constitution can give anybody else or thing.

So I suggest that you wear protective clothing, ear plugs to drown out the screams of annoyance, and remember that a cat has the right of intimate domain, regardless of what room in your house you play in. Its "their" house and you are only tolerated.

Mark

chas · Post by **chas** » Sun Oct 21, 2001 7:49 am

Our cats seem to like the high whistles, and take no notice of the lows. When I play the sopranos, they occasionally will hop up into my lap and begin chin-marking the whistle while I'm playing!

Charlie

chas · Post by **chas** » Sun Oct 21, 2001 7:49 am

Our cats seem to like the high whistles, and take no notice of the lows. When I play the sopranos, they occasionally will hop up into my lap and begin chin-marking the whistle while I'm playing!

Charlie

dakotamouse · Post by **dakotamouse** » Sun Oct 21, 2001 10:42 am

When I play my high D Teddy, my cat, used to jump up on the back of my chair and start nibbling the back of my neck. I think he was getting the wrong impression and thought I was playing love songs just for him. Now he pretty much ignores me. It kinda has the same effect on my husband.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: dakotamouse on 2001-10-21 15:04 ]</font>

WyoBadger · Post by **WyoBadger** » Mon Oct 22, 2001 8:04 am

My pet rat, Crunchy (may he rest in peace) used to shuffle around the cedar chips in his cage when I would play. Whether he was getting playful with pleasure or trying to burrow away from the awful noise was never determined. When I played with him sitting on my lap, he seemed to ignore it.

Oh, and I've always thought "Bodhran" would be a cool name for a pet...

Tom

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Mon Oct 22, 2001 8:41 am

I always choose go-to whistles based on my cats' responses. They love the Abell and the Rose. They are not crazy about Copelands or O'Riordans.

Jessie

EricWingler · Post by **EricWingler** » Mon Oct 22, 2001 8:44 am

My cat Dulcie will come into the room while I am playing and meow. At first I didn't know whether she was telling me to stop or just trying to sing along. I assume that she doesn't mind, because on occasion she will go to sleep while I am playing and meow while she is sleeping. She will do the same thing when I am playing the piano, so I think that she likes music.

aremnius · Post by **aremnius** » Mon Oct 22, 2001 10:21 am

We have two cats. One of them doesn't care one way or the other when I practice, the other bolts out of the room as soon as I move into the second octave.

Sarah

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Mon Oct 22, 2001 11:25 am

I think you should name the cat Finbar, unless it reacts very violently to your playing the Low D, in which case you should name it Furey.

The reason being, of course, that we have to thank Finbar Furey for the Low D. According to whistle folklore he commissioned the first Low D from Bernard Overton in the seventies.

curioso · Post by **curioso** » Mon Oct 22, 2001 12:38 pm

Hm... I'm alergic to cats (alas!), but it seems to me there would be a unique market for "Whistle Loving" cats. Maybe those of you with whistle lovers could breed them to determine if the trait could be passed on! You could even sell kittens bundled with a Sweetone or Generation! I even bet Thom at the Whistle Shop would carry them... dare I suggest "Thom" cats?...